smith



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheetl.

' G. P. SMITH.

WIRE FENCE TOOL.

No. 592,836. Patented Nov. 2, 1897.

(No Model. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

a. P. SMITH.

WIRE FENCE TOOL. N0. 592 836. Patented'ov 2, 1897'.

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NITED STATESP' PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE P. SMITH, OF'JERSEYVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN OR OF ONE-HALF TO WV. H. POWELL, OF SAME PLACE.

WIRE-FENCE TOOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 592,836, dated November 2 1897.

Application filed December 23,1896. $eria1No.616,737. (No model.) I

To all whom it raq/y concern:

Be it known thatI, GEORGE P. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at J erseye ville, in the county of Jersey and State of Illinois, have invented anew and useful VVire-v Fence Machine, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to wire fence machines, and particularly to a crimping apparatus adapted for forming stay and runner locks and causing an interlocking connection between said locks and the engaged intersecting portions of fence stays and runners; and the object in view is to provide a-device especially adapted for use in connection with fences having wire runners and stays, wherein said parts are secured at their points of intersection by perforated locks for applying the locks to the intersections of the stays and runners to prevent independent movement of either by crimping the stays and runners at their point of engagement to cause an interlocking connection between the same and the securing device. 7

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. v

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a crimpingapparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, applied in the operative position to the intersection of a fence stay and runner, in the act of crimping said stay and runner in connection with the lock, other locks on said fence being shown respectivelybefore and after the crimping thereof by means of the apparatus embodying my invention. the crimping apparatus, showing a lock arranged between the forming-dies thereof, as

seen when shaping the lock for application to the intersection of a fence stay and runner. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus embodying my invention, showing a lock Fig. 2 is a side view of of .Fig. 3, as illustrated by the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views, respectively, of the male and female forming-dies. Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 are views of preferred forms of locks adapted for use in connection with the apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 12 is a detail view of the removable side plate.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates the head of the improved crimping apparatus, integral with which is formed a fixed rein or handle 2, said head being provided with a laterally-open recess 3, in which is arranged a plunger 4 to cooperate with a fixed anvil 5. This anvil, being preferably constructed of steel, is detachably secured to the jaw 6, forming the outerside of the recess 3, and being provided with a groove 7 to re ceive said jaw and being held in place by means of a securing device, as a screw 8.

The coacting faces of the plunger and an vil are provided with central sockets or depressions 9 and 10, which are alined with the intersecting points of the wires or fence members l1 and 12, to be crimped into engagement with the lock 13, as shown in Fig. 3, and said plunger is provided with a stem 'or slide 14, operating in a suitable guide 15 in the head in communication with the recess 3. In order to facilitate the insertion and removal of the stem of the plunger, this guide is provided with a removable side plate 16. (Shown detached in Fig. 4c.) This'guide also conimunicates with a longitudinal slot 17, formed in the head, and in this slot operates a cam 18 on the inner extremity of the movable rein or handle 19, said rein .or handle being pivoted, as at 20, between the cars 21, formed integral with the head. The surface of the cam is adapted to bear against the extremity of the plunger-stem to advance the latter, but in order to enable the plunger to be drawn back or moved from the anvil I preferably connect the stem thereof with the cam by means of a looselink 22 or its equivalent. In the construction illustrated this link is fitted at its extremities in slots or bifurcations, respectively, of the stem and cam and is held from displacement by means of pivots 23 and 24, carried, respectively, by the stem and cam, the pivot which is carried by the cam being extended through a longitudinal slot in the link, whereby a slight independent movement of the cam with relation to the stem is possible to insure the bearing of the cam-face against the extremity of the stem. It will be seen that by removing the side plate which closes one side of the guide for the plunger-stem the pivot pin or screw which is carried by the stem is accessible, whereby the plunger may be released and withdrawn for the purpose of repair or replacement when necessary.

In connection with the above-described mechanism I also apply male and female forming-dies 25 and 26, respectively, to the movable and fixed reins or handles, said dies having any desired shape suitable to form a lock to facilitate the engagement thereof with the intersecting portions of fence stays and runners, but preferably having the shape illustrated in the drawings, wherein the male die is provided with a terminally-rounded transversely-elongated projection 27, of which the sides are concavely curved, as at 28, and terminate in shoulders 20, while the female die is provided with a cavity 30, corresponding in contour with the projection of the male die and having its sides convexly curved and terminating in shoulders 31, in contact with which the shoulders of the male die are adapted to contact. Contiguous to the shoulders of the male die are formed stops 32 to engage the edges of the female die to limit the movement of the reins or handles toward each other.

When it is desired to apply a lock such as those illustrated in the drawings to the intersections of a fence stay and runner, said lock is first placed between the forming-dies and the latter are forced together to bow the look by doubling upon a diametrical line and curving the opposite edges outwardly to form perpendicularly-disposed seats for the reception, respectively, of the intersecting wires or members, as may be seen by reference to Fig. 1, and after the intersecting wires have been arranged in the seats provided for their reception the crimping-plunger and anvil are arranged, respectively, upon opposite sides of the lock and are forced into contact therewith, the sockets or depressions of said plunger and anvil being in alinement with the point of intersection of the wires to flatten the lock and thus oppositely crimp or bow the intersections of the wires, as may also be seen by reference to Fig. 1.

The faces of the ooaeting members-namely, the plunger and anvil of the apparatus-are flat, and the central portions thereof being cut away the surrounding portions constitute annular bearing-faces, which engage the pertions of the two intersecting wires contiguous to their point of intersection and force said contiguous portions into a common plane, while the depressions or cut-away portions at the centers of the faces allow snflicient space for the wires at the point of intersection. In constructing a fence it will be understood that after the runners are stretched the crimped locks are applied thereto and the stays are inserted longitudinally or vertically through the vertical seats of the locks, and after having threaded a stay through locks arranged, respectively, upon the several runners the apparatus is applied, as above indicated, to flatten the locks and thereby secure the stays firmly to the runners.

By means of the apparatus above described the stays may be firmly and permanently secured to the already stretched runners of a wire fence with rapidity and facility without having recourse to the ordinary forms of pliers, pincers, and equivalent tools usually employed in this art, the force which is applicable to the plunger by means of the handles of the apparatus being suflicient to secure the efficient crimping of the intersecting wires even when the latter are of large gage.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A fence-building tool having as ooaeting parts an anvil and a plunger, one of which is adapted to be moved toward the plane of the other, and which are provided with fiat annular bearing-faces, of which the central portions are cut away to form registering sockets or depressions adapted to be arranged in alincment with the point of contact of intersecting wires, and means for communicating motion to the movable part to force the contiguous portions of intersecting wires into a common plane and cause a simultaneous crimping or bowing thereof at the intersection, substantially as specified.

2. Afence-building tool having a head provided with a laterally open recess, an anvil arranged at one side of said recess, a reciprocable plunger arranged within the recess to coact with the anvil, and having a stem fitted in a guide in the head, a cam adapted to bear against the extremity of the plunger-stem, a loose connection between the plunger-stem and the cam, consisting of a link having a slotted connection with one of said parts, whereby the face of the cam may be arranged in contact with the stem to relieve the link of strain, and means for operating the cam, substantially as specified.

3. A fence-building tool having a head carryin g a fixed anvil and provided with an opensided guide fitted with a removable side plate, a plunger arranged to coact with said anvil and having its stem mounted in said guide and accessible by the removal of the side plate, a cam arranged to bear against the extremity of the plunger-stem, and a link connecting the cam and the plunger-stem to enable the plunger to be retracted by means of the cam, and means 'for operating the cam, substantially as specified;

4. Afence-building tool having a head provided with a fixed anvil and extended to form a fence rein or handle, a reciprocable plunger adapted to cooperate with said anvil and combining therewith to form a crimping device,

the contiguous faces of the anvil and plunger being provided with registering depressions, a movable rein or handle operatively connected with the plunger, and male and female forming-dies carried by the reins or handles,

respectively, and having interlocking devices adapted to bend a fence-lock to form seats for the reception of intersecting wires, sub- I 5 GEO. P. SMITH.

Witnesses:

A. R. CHAPPELL, GEO. H. SENIOR. 

